Drawbridge.



No. 820,687. PATBNTBD MAY 15; 1906.

B. P. WILLIAMS.

DRAWBRIDGE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 26. 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witwe/:oca

attotmus i No. 820,687. PATENTBD MAY 15, 1906. B. F. WILLIAMS. DRAWBRIDGE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.26. 1905.

3 SEHEN-SHEET s.

Unirse STATES PATENT ermee. BENJAMIN F. WILLIAMS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DRAWBRIDGE.

No. 820,687. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 26,1905. Serial No. 284,519.

rammed May 15, 1906.

To a/ZZ whowt it Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. WIL- LIAMs, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drawbridges; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others4 skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to drawbridges; and its object is to provide a bridge of this character having gates which are automatically operated by the draw for closing or opening the roadway according to the position occupied -by the draw.

My invention consists of hanging gates which are mounted on tracks suspended over and across a roadway, and these tracks are adapted to be raised at their centers when the draw is closed, so that the gates will travel by gravity into opened position.

extend from points adjacent the longitudinal center of the draw toward opposite edges thereof and when the draw is closed mesh with gears 5, secured to the ends of shafts 6, which extend into housings 7 located within the abutments 3 and adjacent the roadway 8. Eachjshaft 6 has a beveled gear 9, which meshes with oppositely-disposed gears 10, secured to shafts 11, which extend under the of,` where said shafts are provided with gears 12. These last-mentioned gears mesh with ears 13, secured to shafts 1A, on which are fastened gears 15, which extend slightly above the road-bed at the sides thereof. The gears 15 are in alinement, and extending from the bridge atpoints also in alinement with the gears are standards 16, which are connected by cross-strips 17, having hangers 18 at their adjoining ends and which are located above the center of the road-bed. These strips 17 are rigidly connected as by means of a bar 19, and a guide-strip 2() connects the The invention also consists of mechanism hangers18. Within the bar 19 and guideoperated by the draw when open for sliding strip 2() is slidably mounted a stem 21, havthe gates together, so as to close the roadway. ing a T-shaped connecting-plate 22, to oppo- The invention also consists of certain site arms of which are secured the adjoining other novel features of construction and comends of rails 23, which extend in opposite dibination of parts,'which will be hereinafter rections through slots 24 in the hangers 18 more fully described, and pointed out in the and are pivotally connected to the standards claims. 16 at points below the strips 17. Mounted In the accompanying drawings I have on each of the rails 23 are rollers 25, from shown the preferred form of my invention. which depend hangers 26, which are secured In said drawings, Figure 1 is a central verto gates 27. Pulleys 28 are mounted within tical longitudinal section through the draw the lower ends of the standards 16 and supand the adjoining portions of a bridge havport cables 29 or other like flexible devices, ing my improved mechanism thereon, sai which are secured at one end to the outer ends draw being shown closed and the gates open. of the gates 27 and have weights 3() at their Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 other ends. Holding-plates 31 extend upis a view similar to Fig; 2, but showing the ward from the road-bed close to and between 'positions occupied by the parts when the the gears 15, and these plates are for the purdraw is open. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view pose hereinafter more fully described. One of the gearing for manipulating the gates, of the arms of each connecting-plate 22 exthe draw being shown therebetween by dottends beyond the hangers 18, and these arms are adapted,'when the draw is closed, to conted lines; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspectact with and be supported by cam-shaped tive view of the central portion of one of the gate-supporting rails and of the lifting device therefor.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 is the draw of a bridge, the same being rotatably mounted in any desired manner and having rollers 2 at its ends adapted to travel upon abutments 3, located at opposite sides of the channel under the draw. A rackl is secured to each end of the draw and upon the bottom thereof, and these racks clined ralls and in contact with the standroadway 8 to points adjacent the sides there-- IOO IIO

ards 16. It will be noted that each of the gates 27 has a rack 34 secured to thebottom thereof, and when the gates are opened the inner or adjoining ends of these racks are supported in position just above but out of contact with the gears 15. When the draw is opened by any suitable mechanism provided for that purpose, the lifting-cams promptly swing out of position beneath the connecting-plates 22, and said plates fall by gravity, so that the rails 23 drop to the lower ends of slots 24 and assume horizontal posi.

lThe gates 27 will therefore drop with the rails, and their racks 34 will come into engagement with gears 15. As the draw swings its racks 4 will rotate the gears 5 meshing therewith, and motion will be transmitted from this gear through the gears 9 into closed position. As the gates 27 come together the racks 34 thereof will become disengaged from gears 15, and the gates will assume positions upon the holding-plates 81.

en the draw is closing, the racks 4 will cause the gears to rotate in opposite directions; but as gears 15 are not in mesh with racks 34 this rotation of said gears will not affect the operation of the gates and the gates will remain closed until the draw is completely closed and the lifting-cams 32 raise the connectingplates 22. As soon as these connecting-plates are lifted by the cams the rails 23 will be inclined and the gates will be lifted ofi" of their holding-plates 31 and will roll ,by gravity into opened position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with closures; of rails thereabove and supporting the same, said rails being pivoted at one end and vertically movable at their adjoining ends, and means j operated by the draw for simultaneously raising the vertically-movable Vends of the rails for directing the closures longitudinally thereon in opposite directions.

2. The combination with a draw; of supporting-rails pivoted at their opposite ends and having their adjoining ends connected means when the draw is moving in one direction, and means upon the draw for simulraising the adjoining ends of the rails to actuate the closures by gravity.

8. The combination with a draw; of a closure, mechanism operated by the opening of the draw for positively actuating the closure in one direction, and means operated by the draw for automatically movingl the closure in the opposite direction upon the completion of the closing of the draw.

The .combination with a hanging closure, a movable mechanism operated by the opening of the draw for positively moving the closure in one direction, and means actuated by the draw upon the completion of its closing movement for returning said closure to its initial position.

5. The combination with a aw; of a hanging closure, a movable track supporting t e same, mechanism engage the closure, a rack upon the draw or actuating said mechanism when the draw is opened to move the closure in one direction, and means operated by the draw at the completion of its closing movement for automatically moving the rail to return the closure by gravity to its initial position.

he combination with a draw having a rack and a lifting device at one end thereof; of a hanging closure, a movable rail supporting the same, and gearing extending under the closure and adapted to move it in one direction, to be operated by the rack and lifting device, respectively, for moving draw; of a track therefor,

Isite directions.

7. The combination with .a draw having a rack and a lifting device thereon; of standards, connecting means upon the standards, slotted hangers depending from said means, oppositely-eXtending rails movably mounted within the hangers, a connecting device interposed between the rails, hanging closures suspended from the rails, racks upon the botgearing engaging and .adapted to actuate the racks and their closures, said gearing and the rails being adapted to be moved by the rack and lifting device, respectively, for closing and opening the closures, respectively.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN F. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

LoRrs BENTLEY, HUGH URoKsoN.

beneath and adapted IOO IIO 

